-NAACP : death of Julian Bond...

FJN is shocked and deeply saddened by the death of Julian Bond. Of the many people in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, he was one of the nicest, a very gentle, soft-spoken man with a wicked sense of humor. One day a group of us were sitting around the SNCC office in Atlanta and somehow got to talking about what we would do if slavery came back. After much fantasizing and laughter, Julian, in his quiet way, interjected, "If slavery comes back, I’m going to buy Ray Charles."I took this photograph in January, 1967, the day Julian took his seat in the Georgia legislature to which he’d been elected and denied until the Supreme Court unanimously ordered the legislature to seat him.An unusual man, thoughtful, serious, gentle, respectful ; interested in serving others rather than serving himself. These qualities were recognized and valued by his peers, who gave him their trust. This kind of gentleman seems hardly to exist today. And that is a sad commentary on how much has changed.Julian Bond and John Lewis will always be heroes for me based on their roles in triggering enormous changes in our country through their work in SNCC in the 60"s. Who knows what the situation today would be had it not been for their leadership ?